Shakespeare’s famed line from Hamlet, “Neither a borrower nor a lender be,” never seemed more fitting.

As the worst financial crisis in decades has taken hold, banks have put the squeeze on all sorts of consumer loans. They’re taking steps to ease their risk, as unemployment rates climb and the number of delinquent borrowers swells.

If you want a new home or a new set of wheels and have less-than-stellar credit, you might have a hard time finding a lender and a decent rate. “The bar has been raised on who gets the very best rates,” says Greg McBride, senior fi nancial analyst at Bankrate.com.

Lenders are ratcheting up minimum credit scores, requiring heftier down payments and upping interest rates for borrowers with less-than-pristine credit histories. The end of easy money has arrived, and lenders nationwide are ready to help you learn how to live within your means the hard way, by not lending you any more dough until you prove you can pay it back in a timely fashion.

As the ever-wise Shakespeare penned, “Put money in thy purse.”

BEING A GOOD BORROWER

THE NEW IDEAL

MORTGAGES: The basics are back.

AUTO FINANCING: Expect tougher fi nancing and say goodbye to no-cash-down deals. “The credit market is defi nitely tighter now than it was a few months ago, but credit is still available for car shoppers,” says Jesse Toprak, an industry analyst at automotive information Web site Edmunds.com. “The key is, if you qualify.

Those with good credit histories can still get the car and the deal they want and terms just as favorable as ever.” Interest rates currently range from 0 percent financing for borrowers with excellent credit up to more than 16 percent for a borrower with a score in the 500s. The national average rate for a borrower with a 720 score is now 6.68 percent on a $25,000 loan amount.

And down payments are back. You’ll probably need a score of 700 or above to finance a car without a down payment, up from 650. Borrowers below that score might be asked to pony up as much as 20 percent in cash. But lenders are even requiring consumers with average credit scores to throw in at least 5 percent, and more frequently 10 or 20 percent.

And lenders are restricting the length of loans. So for many consumers, signing up for a loan that’s longer than fi ve years, a common practice the past few years, might not be a choice.

CREDIT CARDS: For credit card holders, there are fewer offers for 0 percent balance transfers or low-interest cards landing in mailboxes. Card companies have been reducing credit limits, raising interest rates and fees and closing idle accounts in response to rising business costs and charge-offs, which occur when banks treat delinquent accounts as a loss. “Days of a $25,000 credit card limit with a credit score in the 600s are gone,” says John Ulzheimer of Credit.com, a consumer credit information and application site. “Getting approved for a new credit card is definitely more diffi cult, but it’s not Armageddon, as some people say,” he adds.

“As with other consumer loans, it’s all about your credit score. Try to get it well above 700 for the best deals.” The big danger from a credit picture perspective is having a credit card’s limit reduced or closed for non-use, Ulzheimer observes.

Reducing credit lines has hurt some consumers by affecting their debt-utilization ratio, which is the percentage of available revolving credit they’re using on credit cards. A high debt utilization can lower a credit score, which then makes it tougher to get credit or at least get credit under favorable terms. Make a habit of using each card once every six months at least, and then pay the bill before the grace period expires and you start to owe interest. ■